Redacted Version of Original Op-Ed  —  The Iraq Study Group has added its voice to a burgeoning chorus of commentators, politicians, and former officials calling for a limited, tactical dialogue with Iran regarding Iraq.  The Bush administration has indicated a conditional willingness to pursue …

Lawmaker's files sought by grand jury  —  The subpoena in the corruption probe went out before Rep. Curt Weldon lost his seat.  It's unclear if he reported it.  —  WASHINGTON — A federal grand jury has subpoenaed congressional records from Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.) as part …

Issue Advocacy Ads May Run During an Election, Three-Judge Court Rules  —  A divided three-judge court ruled yesterday that ads advocating for an issue and mentioning candidates can run during an election, creating a loophole in the law that sought to control the power of big money in elections.

Marines Charge 4 With Murder of Iraq Civilians  —  By PAUL von ZIELBAUER and CAROLYN MARSHALL  —  Four marines were charged yesterday with murder in the killings of two dozen Iraqi civilians, including at least 10 women and children, in the village of Haditha last year, military officials said at Camp Pendleton, Calif.

The Wag Time Pet Spa Conspiracy... And a Cancer Survivor's Right to Respect  —  As an investigative reporter and independent journalist, I have pursued a career course of independence so as to not be beholden to anyone.  A grandiose notion, perhaps, and I will perhaps leave it to others to judge my work against the ideal.

A Bigot in Congress  —  BIGOTRY COMES in various guises — some coded, some closeted, some colossally stupid.  The bigotry displayed recently by Rep. Virgil H. Goode Jr., a Republican who represents a patch of south-central Virginia, falls squarely in the third category.

PATH Tunnels Seen as Fragile in Bomb Attack  —  An analysis done for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey says that the PATH train tunnels under the Hudson River are more vulnerable to a bomb attack than previously thought, and that a relatively small amount of high explosives …

Study Suggests Incentives on Oil Barely Help U.S.  —  The United States offers some of the most lucrative incentives in the world to companies that drill for oil in publicly owned coastal waters, but a newly released study suggests that the government is getting very little for its money.

Hamsters Return to Nature in Eastern Germany  —  Germany, warned five years ago by the European Union to revive its field hamster population, has brought a French pair of the rodents to get busy in a hamster-decmiated eastern state.  —  This week, officials cleared the final bureaucratic hurdles …

Polls for the Republican Nomination  —  Pollster.com has an interesting summary of the poll standings for the Republican nomination in 2008.  It makes the point, largely overlooked by political writers of all stripes, that Rudy Giuliani has been leading John McCain in the large majority of polls, albeit usually by narrow margins.

Report Says TSA Violated Privacy Law  —  Passengers Weren't Told That Brokers Provided Data to Screening Program in '04  —  Secure Flight, the U.S. government's stalled program to screen domestic air passengers against terrorism watch lists, violated federal law during a crucial test phase …

Robin Hayes says we will win in Iraq by "spreading the message of Jesus Christ" there.  —  Robin Hayes has the solution to the Iraq war: have our soldiers convert all Muslims to Christianity.  —  Having won the election by only a hair's width and almost getting himself kicked out of Congress seems …

SNOWE, LANDRIEU CREATE BIPARTISAN, CONSENSUS-BUILDING GROUP IN SENATE  —  Senators Want to Build on Success of "Gang of 14"  —  Washington D.C. - U.S. Senators Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) and Mary Landrieu (D-Louisiana) announced today that they want to build on the success of the "Gang of 14 …

Eyeing '08, Democrats Nurse Freshmen at Risk  —  When newly elected Democratic members of Congress showed up here last month, they were taken on the traditional round of orientation, civic-minded lessons on how Congress works, tours of the Capitol and receptions with their new colleagues and leaders.